Is Quitting an Option?

One of the most common cause of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat- Napoleon Hill

I remember running my first race, prior to this race I run regularly with an average of 10 miles per week. Race day finally came and I found out that the terrain was completely different from what I was used to.

The race track was on an altitude much higher than I was used to and for the first one mile I was running up hill. I could have checked the details of the terrain before the race but it didn’t even occur to me at the time.

Several thoughts flowed through my mind during the first few miles of the race, predominantly thoughts of turning back and simply quitting the race. Quitting was the easiest thing I could have done at that point. Several points justifying quitting the race came rushing through my mind as well. Have you ever been faced with a difficulty and thoughts of quitting flood your mind?

Are you considering quitting a task or turning back on a journey right now? I hope you find the highlights below useful in your consideration.

1. What does it take to quit? If you carefully think about it, it takes absolutely nothing to quit. Using my race scenario described earlier, I had trained for several months for the race and quitting will only involve taking a simple stroll downhill from the point I was to my car. It takes a lot of effort and perseverance to succeed at anything, while quitting takes nothing. If you are thinking about quitting right now take the advise in the quote below.

When you feel like quitting, think about why you started- Anonymous

2. How will you feel if you quit? Quitting dampens morale and takes you back to repeat what you have done earlier, even if you choose a different task. On the contrary, accomplishing a goal after a very difficult experience makes victory even sweeter. Think about the boost that will give to your self-esteem. You will go on to take bigger task with confidence. I completed the 10k race in less time than expected, it gave me a huge confidence boost. I doubt if I will still be running today if I left the race.

You have all it takes to win in you, you can win! Believe this truth and declare it to yourself as often as you can and see things work your way.

The difference between winning and losing is a mental one- Peter Thomson

Winners are not people who never fail but people who never quit – Anonymous

Julia is an entrepreneur and founder at Foodniche Inc. She derives joy and gratification from encouraging people. She adopts a very practical and straight to the point approach to her writing to uplift readers.
She writes with a goal to motivate people to bring out the best in them. She married her best friend and sweetheart in 2006, they live together in NJ with their two boys.